


The One Thing She Couldn’t Lose

by Beautifullillis



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Angst, Choking, F/M, Nightmare reveal, Novian, Sentinel reveal, ig??? - Freeform, its non sexual tho, sorry lads - Freeform, they fight for 2 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 06:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18424851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautifullillis/pseuds/Beautifullillis
Summary: Based off the prompt “nightmare sentinel reveal?”See end for notes





	The One Thing She Couldn’t Lose

The streets were in chaos. Yet Nova floated above it all on the roof of a random apartment building. No, she wasn’t Nova right now, she was Nightmare. She looked down at how people ran from clouds of green and neon pink smoke rising from the streets as Leroy threw small bomb like spheres around and how they hid from the swarms or bees and hornets and wasps flying around in large cartoon like clouds. She felt proud. After all she’d been through, dead parents, a dead baby sister, a man pointing a gun to her forehead where the splatter of her mother’s own blood sat, living as a secret, training to be the best possible super villain ever, it was all coming together. Yet her heart stung as she thought of how she’d gotten there. A flash of a passed out Oscar and Ruby crosses her mind. They were hidden in one of the Renegade safe rooms that didn’t get used. She’d wanted them to be safe when this was over so they could live on, when she and her friends had killed all the others and left. Well, almost all the others. She couldn’t find Adrian and as her mind flickered to him she could feel pain in her. He was probably down there, trying to save someone. She thought. That’s exactly what he would be doing. She took a step back as her intake of breath shook inside of her, as if she would cry. She knew she wouldn’t, she didn’t have any left after she had sat and sobbed all morning thinking of where this could’ve gone if she just joined the light side for real. The clank of metal on the concrete rooftop alerted her of the company. She turned, barely being able to see beneath her weighted hood but she saw him. “Sentential. How nice of you to pay me a visit.” She smirked though he couldn’t see beneath her mask. “Call off your friends and I’ll ask the council for mercy on you.” Was all he said. He sounded tense. “Call off my friends? Why would I do that? I’m going to rule this town now and there’s nothing you or the council or any Renegade can do about it!” Her hands moved in a motion like she was pushing everything off a table as she spoke. “I’m finally going to have the revenge I deserve and you can’t stop me!” She was fuming now and he had barely said anything. “I won’t let you do anything else to this city.” He said calmly. “I’m finally taking you down Nightmare.” With those words he lunged for her. Nova made quick work of getting out of his way and pulling out a small sphere from her pocket that held acid she was hoping would erode his armor. She tossed it at him and watched as the class shell broke on contact, the neon yellowy-green slime bubbling and sizzling as it dripped down his chest and over his shoulder and left arm. The sphere had hit his left shoulder, the same place she had stabbed him on their first encounter. He made a noise of surprise and went o wipe it off when he heard the sizzle and bubbling too. “What was that!” he yelled as he swiped at it with his metal covered hand. “Just a little something cyanide helped me with. It was designed specifically to destroy your armor. I was hoping I’d meet up with you today.” With those words she was running at her again, his shoulder, where he’d been hit was now exposed, a dark long sleeve was shown. Nova pushed herself off the ground into a jump, she landed on The Sentinel's shoulders and she was already jumping back onto the gravel of the rooftop before he could react. “Come on, you’re really gonna make it that easy for me? I thought this would at least be a challenge.” Nova saw the metl of his chest and arm were partly gone now, exposing the rest of his shirt. The skin of his hand should be exposed too, he stared at his hand with disbelief. “It’s about to become a real challenge.” He said, and she could tell he was angry. He held up his arm to shoot his layzer beam at her and she waited til the cylinder was a blaring white to jump to the right, out of the beam’s way. He made a sound of frustration and she just laughed at him. In her moment of laughing, The Sentenial had charged at her again and grabbed her by her throat with his hand that was still encased in a meta glove. Nova let out a noise that sounded like she was choking, well because she kinda was, but unlike she was expecting he didn’t let her go. He picked her feet off the ground and made a small laugh. Nova kicked and thrashed and tried to yell for Leroy or Honey or even Phobia, all of who where running rampod in the streets, relishing in the feeling of being feared again. Nova closed her eyes and tried to breath but it was hard. She grabbed The Sentenial’s wrist and tried to use her power though his suit even though she knew it wouldn't work. While she wasn't looking his hand had come up to pull on her mask. “Naa-oo!” Her words were winded and gurgled ash her hands came up to pull on the mask, tpo keep it on her face. Eventually Nova had to stop and try to pull on his hand. He broke the strap on her mask as he yanked it off and tossed it over the edge of the building. His hand then came to pull back her hood. Nova could tell just by the feeling that she looked like someone being suffocated. The one thing she wasn't expecting in the moment was for The Sentenial to drop her onto the gravel of the ground. Nova wheezed and took as many deep breaths as she could before her lungs didn’t feel like they were on fire. “Nova?” Asked the Sentenial. She just coughed and wiped the drool from the side of her mouth. “What, you’ve heard of me?” She said. She wasn't expecting the Sentenial to recognize her like how people recognized Adrian when the went out to get food or when they went to the park. “Noav, it-it’s m-” he stopped himself from finishing and took a step back. “You’ve been Nightmare this whole time?” He asked as he looked down at the hand he had strangled her with then touched his shoulder where she had stabbed him. “What were you expecting a boy or something?” Nova started to stand but the lack of oxygen she had was still affecting her legs. He moved to her and helped her onto wobbly legs, his arm with the exposed hand around her. “I-i-i didn't mean to hurt you.” he sounded sad, like he was about to cry. “What’s your problem, you just tried to strangle me?!” Nova wasn't sure if she was hearing him right or it was just her head still spinning. He eventually picked her up carry her bridal style towards the edge of the building, he crouched down to push himself up into the air-to leap over a couple buildings at a time- when Nova noticed what was happening. “No!” She yelled and thrashed, grabbing for the knife on her belt she raised it up to stab him. He caught her hand easily. “I won’t go, you can’t arrest me!” She was about to fall, through his arms and into the ground. She was going to swiper her legs at him and knock him over, then she’ll stab him and run- He fixed his grip on her and pulled her closer to him. “Nova calm down.” He said softly. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I would never hurt you on purpose.” Nova knew his tone sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. “Why should i trust you? You just tried to strangle me to death.” He flinched at the accusation. “To be fair i just wanted you to pass out.” He tried to joke and Nova rolled her eyes. “Thats extremely reassuring.” When she looked up at him again she could tell he was looking at her. “Nova. I want to tell you something, but I’ve been scared. That you would hate me. But considering that i just didn’t kill you i think you owe me.” Nova was about to fight back but before she could say anything he sat her with her back against the ledge of roof. He lifted his hand up to lift off his helmet and Nova noticed his dark skin for the first time and it made her mind flash with Adrian and she let out a pained wheeze. Just the mere thought of his charming smile made her heart sting. The Sentenial stopped lifting his hands up. “Are you okay?” He asked softly and she just nodded. “I’m fine.” She said quietly. He started lifting his hands again and Nova was on the edge of her seat. He popped his fingers between his chin and the helmet and began to pull up. Nova was afraid she would blink and miss the big reveal. He quickly pulled off the helmet as if he was done with the dramatics. Nova blinked at first, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her because there was no way that Adrian Everheart was The Sentenial. “A-Adrian!” She said. She could see the way he shrank back in on himself. “Nova i-” But Nova was already on her feet. “Adrian! What is happening? I know for a fact you are not the Sentenial. This has to be a joke. I’m dreaming…” She leaned back. If she was dreaming that meant that she didn't take over Galton City, but Nova knows she did that for a fact. There is no way she didn't. “Nova, I know this is a shock but i swear i was gonna tell you. But then i remembered how much you hate the Sentenial and i just...chickened out.” Nova’s head spun. “But what about you?” Adrian pointed out. “You were Nightmare the whole time! You stabbed me, you almost killed Max, yo-” “I didn’t hurt Max!” Nova interrupted him. “It was Frostbite that bitch, she stabbed him while she was aiming of me!” Nova looked like she was about to cry just thinking about Max. “Nova, thats not the point here! Nova you’re an Anarchist. Your uncle tried to take over the city. You tried to kill my dad.” Nova took a step back and her defenses finally broke. “I never asked to be the bad guy, Adrian.” She felt the water fall from her lashes. “My mom and dad said the renegades would come when i needed them, and the next thing i know i have two dead parents, a dead baby sister and there's still no renegades at my house. I barely made it out of my own bedroom alive. But do you know who was there? My uncle Ace. He saved me and he raised me. But here i am, years later and i don’t know if the way i was raised is right. I don’t know if i've been wrong my whole life.” Nova felt so bad and everything just spilled out of her mouth. She leaned into Adrian as he reached for her and cried into his shoulder. With her secret identity lost and her uncle gone all Nova had left was Adrian. And she wasn’t going to lose that too.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to request something just let me know on my tumblr, beautifullillis


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